Here Are All of the Royal Traditions You Can Expect When Baby Archie Gets Baptized

Ever since 1841, when Queen Victoria commissioned a cream-colored gown for her oldest daughter, Princess Victoria, the Honiton Christening Gown (as it was named for the fine lace used to make it) was worn by all members of the royal family. However, in 2008, Queen Elizabeth deemed the gown too fragile to continue wearing and called upon her dressmaker, Angela Kelly, to make a replica of the gown. The Earl and Countess of Wessex's son, James, Viscount Severn, was the first to wear the new gown, and since then, the gown has been worn by all three of the Cambridge children. It will also be the same one worn by Baby Sussex.

Just like weddings, the royals often take advantage of christenings and use them as an opportunity to take a family photo. For Louis's baptism, Prince William and Kate Middleton even appointed a private photographer, Matt Porteous, to capture their own photos, marking the first time that the family of five had been photographed together.

As well as the Honiton Christening Gown, a beautiful silver-leaf font (or large container that holds the water used for baptisms) has been used for all royal baptisms since Princess Victoria's 1841 christening. The gold-colored font was designed by Prince Albert back in 1840, featuring multiple cherubs playing harps on the outside, and it is kept at the Jewel House at the Tower of London when it's not being used. The only royal not to use the Lily Font since 1841 has been Princess Eugenie, who was the first royal to have a public christening in 1990.

Along with the Lily Font, a silver ewer (or jug) that has been used since King George III's christening is used to pour water from the River Jordan (where Jesus was baptized) over the baby's head. Fun fact: Prince William was actually christened with tap water in 1983 rather than water from the River Jordan due to a Buckingham Palace holy water shortage at the time.

Though there have been exceptions to this, almost all senior royals (including Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince Harry, and all three of the Cambridge children) are christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury. As Meghan Markle herself was christened and confirmed by the current Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, before marrying Prince Harry, it's likely that he will baptize baby Archie as well. Notably, Queen Elizabeth was actually christened by the Archbishop of York in 1926.

Rather than saving the top tier of their wedding cakes for a year after the wedding, royal couples save their top tiers for the christening of their first child. Prince William and Kate Middleton changed up this tradition and actually served their preserved fruit cake at Charlotte's and Louis's baptisms as well as George's. As Prince Harry and Meghan Markle served a lemon sponge cake on their wedding day, it's hard to say whether the cake tier was saved for Archie's baptism and whether they'll be able to partake in this tradition.

Royals generally only choose close friends and former staffers to serve as godparents, but even though royal children are given an average of six godparents, immediate family members still can't score one of those spots. Not all family members are barred, however — Kate and William have appointed several cousins to be their children's godparents. One of Prince George's godparents is William's cousin Zara Tindall, and Princess Charlotte's godparents include Kate's cousin Adam Middleton and William's cousin Laura Fellowes. The most recent addition, Prince Louis, has Kate's cousin Lucy Middleton as one of his godparents.

For Meghan and Harry, godparent predictions include Serena Williams, Alexis Ohanian, Meghan's stylist and BFF, Jessica Mulroney, and her husband, Ben, as well as Benita Litt — Meghan's longtime friend who appointed the duchess as godmother of her own children — and her beau, Darren.